Pro-Gloria senators grab plum posts

BY JP LOPEZ

IS the former minority bloc virtually handing the Senate to Malacañang allies?

This question cropped up after the Senate leadership was captured Monday by senators closely identified with President Arroyo.

This started with the nomination of new Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile by no less than oppositionist Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

Yesterday, senators elected Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri as chair of the Senate committee on rules and concurrently as majority leader, replacing Sen. Francis Pangilinan.

Zubiri said new committee heads will be elected next week, with names known to be Malacañang allies getting the plum posts.

Zubiri said that during a consensus meeting of the new majority held Monday night at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Enrile asked the senators to give him the authority to choose the new committee chairmen.

Zubiri said the senators, in the meeting, expressed their committee preferences.

This early, reports said the Blue Ribbon committee would likely go to Sen. Richard Gordon, an administration ally.

Sources said Lacson would not ask for the Blue Ribbon so as not to impute politics on the minority’s move ousting Sen. Manny Villar from the top Senate post.

Lacson has asked that he chair the Senate ways and means committee, replacing a fellow at the new majority bloc, Francis "Chiz" Escudero.

Aside from the ways and means committee, Lacson is also eyeing ethics and accounts committees.

The ethics panel is yet to convene to hear complaints filed by Sen. Jamby Madrigal against Villar on the alleged P200-million "double insertion" in the 2008 budget for the C-5 road project.

Madrigal said she would pursue the C-5 case.

Sen. Edgardo Angara will head the finance committee.

Zubiri said Sen. Loren Legarda is eyeing the agriculture committee, Madrigal the environment committee, and Sen. Manuel Roxas II the education committee aside from the trade and industry committee.

"There are enough committees to be given (even to minority bloc members). It has been a practice to give committees to the minority. As a matter of fact, before the change of leadership, minority members had very good committees," Zubiri said.

The new minority will now have both administration and opposition members and self-proclaimed independent Pangilinan.

The administration component of the new minority are Joker Arroyo and Lito Lapid, and from the opposition — Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Villar, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Pia Cayetano.

Detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a staunch Arroyo critic, preferred to be with Pimentel in the minority. In a statement, he said he would have voted for Pimentel during the shakeup.

While the composition of the minority block looks peculiar, odder is the composition of the new majority which is led by Enrile, an ally of President Arroyo but the chairman of former President Joseph Estrada’s party, the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.

Enrile got the support of 14 senators during the voting Monday. Five senators abstained while two – Miriam Santiago (sick) and Trillanes (detained) – were absent.

The members of the new majority are Ramon Revilla, Edgardo Angara, Gregorio Honasan, and Zubiri from the administration; Rodolfo Biazon, Jinggoy Estrada, Escudero, Lacson, Loren Legarda, Madrigal, and Roxas from the opposition; and independent Richard Gordon.

Estrada resigned as Senate President pro tempore after Villar’s ouster Monday but was re-elected shortly later.

Pimentel said he was joining the new majority.

"There will be no deals for me in the revamp," Pimentel said but did not say what the new majority offered him.

He said he would stay an oppositionist even after he relinquished the minority leader post he had held since 2001.

"I have told our colleagues on record that I was relinquishing that position upon the election of whoever wants to take my place. I am not hanging to anything. I will just stick to my role as oppositionist," Pimentel said.

Pimentel said the composition of the new majority is a dizzying mix of varied political interests.

Lacson has justified Monday’s coup by saying it would give a bigger voice to the opposition even under a pro-administration Senate president.

Lacson also said Sen. Benigno Aquino III will still be accepted in the new majority despite having abstained during Monday’s voting.

"We have invited him, meron siyang personal reason for abstaining pero siya magjo-join sa amin sa majority bloc," he said. – With Dennis Gadil